Chapter Ten'The murder trial of Paddy Groggy'

The year that Paddy Groggy spent remanded in custody, provided constant gossip which often took place over the garden walls of the people of Keighley and Denholme area.

It was hard to tell what precisely it was which had shocked the good people more. Had they been shocked by the murder of one teacher by another for no explicable reason or was their greatest shock and gossip reserved for the 'suspect' sexual nature of the Headmaster's daughter who was reportedly down in Bath 'doing it with another woman'.

Margaret decided to visit Paddy in Armley Prison again some nine months after her first visit to see him. In order not to be recognised by any other prison visitors who came from the Keighley area, she deliberately dressed down, dyed her hair dark and covered her head with a scarf. Paddy had received no word from his daughter Bridget since her first and only prison visit.

During her visit to Armley Prision, Margaret and Paddy spoke briefly about their two daughters breaking off their relationship.

“I always hoped that would happen,” Paddy replied. “I’m so glad they arrived at the decision and didn’t have us force it on them. I suppose it was only natural that they would feel so close to each other. Now that they have broken up, Margaret, you must ensure that it never starts up again.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Paddy,” Margaret replied. “It’s not in my power to stop the pair ever reuniting, although I’d be very surprised if they’d ever considered such a move. I’m only Joe’s mother, not her guardian anymore! I’m only a parent, man.”

For a moment, Paddy seemed to be on the verge of making some deep disclosure to Margaret, but on second thought he allowed the moment to pass.

As Margaret left the prison that day, Paddy requested that she didn’t visit him again. He did ask however, if she ever occasioned to see Bridget again in the future, to tell her that he always loved her. As Margaret walked away and looked back at the prison walls behind her, she had a strange premonition of pending doom to come.

Margaret travelled back to Haworth on the next bus, but felt distinctly uneasy with her visit today. For one moment, towards the close of her visit, she sensed that Paddy had dearly wanted to share some dark secret with her; that he'd wanted to tell her something and had been on the edge of doing so, but had drawn back at the last last moment. Was it the reason why he'd killed Thomas Walsh that he'd wanted to tell her? Also, Margaret had sensed a tone of finality in Paddy’s voice that afternoon.

Three days later and two days before Paddy’s trial had been due to commence, a news item on Radio Leeds told the listeners that Paddy Groggy had committed suicide in his cell. He had hanged himself with his belt. It would seem that Paddy had never intended to reveal why he'd stabbed Thomas Walsh to death and was determined to take this secret to the grave with him.